Wheel.



J. H. HARRINGTON.

WHEEL. y APPLICATION FILED MAR. 3. 190B.

' lfomey PATENTED JULY 30, 1907. v

JOHN H. HARRINGTON, OF NEW BEDFORD, MASSACHUSETTS.

WHEEL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 30, 1907.

Application and Mmh 3,1906. serai No. 304,011.

i'lhe main object of the present invention is the provision of meansadapted to be secured to the 'felly of the' Wheel and primarily arrangedto be protected by a suitable covering, whereby to provide a wheelhaving in effect a pneumatic tire constructed to avoid the necessity ofinflation and practically non-collapsible under ordinary circumstances.i

The. invention will be described in the following specification,reference being had particularly to the accompanying drawings, inWhich:-

Figure l is a view in side elevation, partly in section, showing aVwheel constructed in accordance with my invention, Fig. 2 is an enlargedtransverse section through the tire and felly, Fig. 3 is a plan of oneoi the bearing plates of one of the resilient sections of my improvedWheel. I

Referring particularly to the drawings my improved wheel in itsessential details may be in any preferred construction so far as thehub, spokes and folly arel concerned, though l prefer that the felly 1be formed .with the usual circumferential retaining grooves 2, designedto receive the tread section 3 of the usual pneumatic tire, it beingunderstood that as usually constructed said section, commonly called theouter tube, yis removably secured in the groove and is adapted tocontain an inner tube arranged forsuitable inflation to secure thenecessary elastic bearing of the outer tube. ln carrying out thepresentinvention, howegen the inner tube is wholly dispensed with, andin'its place I provide a series of resilient sections 4, secured to thefolly of the wheel and sufficient in number to extend circumferentiallyof said felly, as shown. Those sections are in exact duplicate, eachcomprising an omer bearing plate 5, an inner hearing plate fi, andduplicate 'weight resisting coil springs 7. llach henri ng plate ispartitI ularly constructed to receive and permit the connection theretoof the coil springs 7, being for this purpose formed 'near each end withtwo sets of openings S and fl, cach set including two openings arrangedin alinement longitudinally of the bearing plate and the openings of oneset being in alinoment with the respective openings of the other settransverse of said plat e, all as clearly shown in Fig. 3. 'l'licopeningsof cach set are spaced a short distance apart longitudinally ofthe plate and the neck l0 joining said openings is off-sot H. HARmNoToN,Ia citizen in wheels' from the plane of the plate, being bent inwardaway from the bearing surface of the plate to provide a de- 'pressionll, between.thepopenings'whereby said openings are connected by achannel, which when the sections are assembled and in place on the fellyprojects away from the bearing surface of the respective plates 5 andV(5 toward the center of the tire, as clearly shown in Fig. 2.

The springs 7 are secured to the respective plates by passing the endcoil of said springs successively through the openings 8 and 9 of eachset at one so that a portion of said coil bears beneath the plate andthe'rcmainder on the upper side of the plate, the latter portion restingwithin the channels ll, hereinbefore referred to, so that while theterminal coil of the-spring bears upon opposite sides of the respectiveplates, no portion of said coil projects beyond the bearing surface ofthe particular plate, thereby avoiding obstruction on said bearingsurface for obvious reasons.

Each of the bearing plates 4 and 5 are, of course, to

be curved longitudinally to conform to the curvature of the wheel, andtransversely to conform to the transverse curvature of the tire. -Thesections are secured in pla-ce through the medium of a bolt 12 passedthrough the fclly of the wheel and to the lower bearing plates 6 of thesection, the opening in said plate for the reception of thc bolt beingpreferably arranged in the longitudinal and transverse center of theplate, approximately intermediate the bearing points of tho springs 7,as clearly shown in Fig. l.

By preference the sections are spaced a slight distance apartcircumferentially of the folly, and the outer' bearing plate 5 ispreferably'of somewhat greater length than thc inner bearing plate withthe springs secured to thc respectivo plates at approximately thc samedistance from their ends, 'whereby said springs when in placeprojectradially from the folly to afford the maximum resistance, as will (beunderstood.

A iter the sections are secured in place the outer tube 3 of the tire,which may be ofrany usual or preferred construction or material, isplaced in position, bearing directly upon .the surfaces of the outerbearing plates 5. 'lhc wheel as constructed will, of course, rc quirc noinflation, and is not susceptible of collapse under ordinarycircumstances, it being noted that the breaking of either of the springsof any particular section will not interfere materially with theresiliency of the 'tiro as a whole, as the remaining sections arcindependent and will serve to support the tread surface in approximatelyproper relative position to the folly under such circumstances.

TheY particu1ar connection of the springs 7 of thev bearing plates isimportant in that it dispenses with the usual soldoringor other fixedmeans for securing the end of the plate,

` springs in place, providing, however, for o. comparatively secureconnection between said springs and plates und while at the same timepermitting the ready disconnection of any particular spring from thevplates l'or renewal or repair.f f

The tire as a, whole y:is of Asimple construction, and readily adaptedfor use with the Wheels now in use, requiring lsimply the elimination ofthe usual inner tube :ind the substitution therefor of the resilientsections described.

Having thus described the invention what is claimed as new, is:-

l. 'In n vehicle wheel an elastic Atire comprising a flexible trendsection -of approximately cylindrical form and :i series of resilientsections arranged intermediate the tread section and the felly of thewheel, said resilient sections comprising;` spaced hem-ing plates undintermediate springs removably connected to said plates, said platesbeing euch formed with spaced longitudinally arranged channels toreceive the end coils of said springs, one of the plates bearingdirectly upon and bei g secured to the felly of the wheel.

In a vehicle wheel an elastic tire comprising a flexible tread sectionand a series of resilientsections arranged intermediate the treadsection and the felly of therwheel,

said resilient sections comprising spaced bearingl plates andintermediate springs removably connected to said plates, said platesbeing formed with longitudinivlly alined openings arranged in plates topermit thepassage of the end coils of the springs through said plates,whereby to secure each end coil at two point'sequallyspaced on oppositesides' of the longitudinal centeri of the plate, the material of theplates joining said opening being projected relative to the surface ofthe plate t'o avoid the projection of the spring beyond the surface ofthe plate when in place.

In testimony whereof, I aiix my signature in presence 0f two witnesses.

JOHN H. IIAnmNd'roN.

pairs in alinement transverse of the4

